Finally got my spare VTR swinger, 95 900RR swinger, and 95 900RR caliper bracket from fleabay. all that cost me around $110 USD. this is what i received today

then i used a sawzall for cutting the brace off the swinger which worked well as it cuts very thin and very straight. Then i used a combo of a grinder and a hand file to make the brace fit a little better onto the VTR swinger. i used a small sledge hammer to make the divit in the box front foot for the shock area. then i used a rubber mallet to shape it a little better.

i used a grinder to cut through the welds on the brake caliper mounting tabs on both swingers and then they popped off, seemed like they used some kind of glue at the factory on the back before welding them on. those will be fitted up when i get everything welded.

a couple hours later and this is what i have now.









really excited to knock this one off the list. cant wait to see how it feels. ive read that its like doing an USD in the front but for the rear.

 

Hope you weren't doin' that work on the kitchen counter...

 

If you are not planning on using an 900RR chain guard consider removing the tabs now.

Looks good keep posting the progress

 

I'm planning on using the 900RR chain guard when I do mine and I acquired a 900RR swinger that had both pieces of the chain guard intact. There are some neat looking 900RR guards to be had on eBay, but they all seem to say "900RR" on them. Go figure.

I may end up fabbing my own guard eventually using the black plastic from Honda in the interim.

It's coming along nicely, jscobey. You've got the fit and alignment done up very well.

 

welll i didnt take them off because i was gonna go with a hugger/chain gaurd combo for a 900rr. is that the best way to get a hugger/chain gaurd? and will it bolt right up if leave the tabs on there?

i see huggers on ebay but not a hugger/chain gaurd. this one although a little expensive seems like a good choice, im just wondering will it work with the VTR swinger?

 

I've not actually done this, so take my input for what it's worth. If memory serves, all the huggers I've seen online interface with the brace, not the rest of the swingarm, so I don't think the fact that it is a VTR swingarm comes into play. If it is a hugger meant to go on a 900RR, I would think it would use the existing tabs, though, I guess it could require that they be removed just as well. I have seen at lease one other 900RR brace mod use a hugger meant for a model other than the 900RR, but I don't recall which one exactly. That post may have been on the Firestorm forum.

There. How's that for a bunch of wishy-washy, useless "help".

 

well any help is appreciated ha. ive seen an R1 hugger on kenmoores bike.

i really want both the hugger and chain gaurd with as little modifying as possible. not because i dont wanna do the work but usually the less modifying i have to do to make something fit, the better it holds up.

im thinking about trying to make my current hugger/chain gaurd fit but its very different. id rather sell it as is for someones bike.

but i NEED a hugger/chain gaurd. otherwise it will be endless hours of cleaning road dirt and chain lube off my shock and other parts of the bike.

it always shocks me when bikes dont come with huggers standard.

 

well after some searching around on some CBR/fireblade forums, i found out that the second gen '96-'99 900rr huggers will work with barley any modifications on the 1st gen or box style 900rr brace's. they are almost the same as far as the mounting points.

this is the one i bought 900rr hugger ebay which is just what i was looking for plus it was half the price of any similar 1st gen huggers it has the chain gaurd combo in the back and then i plan on reusing the frontal piece of the 900RR's chain gaurd in conjusction with the hugger to get full coverage on the chain.

this all means that there will be a nice real carbon fiber hugger chain gaurd combo for a stock VTR up for sale on here soon
along with a ton of other parts i have sitting in my garage

 

Looks great. Kenmoore has great pictures of his swingarm build also, my help you with the last few details.


On mine I used a grinder to arch the bottom of the brace's front support, so it sat flat on the swingarm with no gaps. That way my welder buddy didn't have to "fill" with aluminum, just simply run a bead.


When I did that I had to go back and forth with all the mounting points, to make sure I achieved the angle I wanted.


It's a bit of a balancing act, but well worth it!






James

 

It's a balancing act for thedeatons. Me, I'd end up with a little three-prong nub of aluminum to be tacked on the swinger that couldn't brace anything.

 

YES!! i found someone local that can weld it for me! im going to drop it off in the morning.

cant believe it was so freakin difficult to find someone to do it. makes me think i should learn to weld aluminum!

what im thinking is since i might not be able to be there when its dropped off since i have to work, so i just glued down the caliper bracket guide and then masking taped over it while the glue dries. thats how it appeared to be from the factory when i cut it off, they glued it down so that it was exactley right when they welded it on there.

anyways really stoked to find someone. really small world too, i actually happen to know him randomly so its cool to have someone who i know doing it, so he will take a little extra care with it. he does all kinds of custom motorcycle and car work that i was looking at pictures of. freakin nuts how talented some guys are with metal.

 

well its all welded up and ready to go! the guy did a great job. really stoked on it. looks like it was meant to be there.

im about to start swapping on the swinger. any tips for me before i start? anything i should make sure i do or look out for?

 

well its all on on everything fits up well! i decided against powdercoating it black, at least for now. i dont want a black swinger and an aluminum frame. so unless i decide to podwercoat my frame one day, my swinger will stay aluminum.

there is only ONE stupid thing i overlooked. the fact that the chain has to go THROUGH the swingarm now. im currently waiting for my local bike shop to open to get my hands on a new master link. i cant beleive i didnt even think about that! hopefully ill be done within the next hour or 2

 

Looking good, wait till you ride it.

Don't feel bad about the chain, the same thing happened to me.


Got to the bike shop just before they closed and a neighbour came to the rescue with a chain breaker..

 

well finally got everything buttoned up! new master link, my buddy also happens to be a certified flare'er so he puts chains together all the time. it was nice to have the chain completley off to get it realllyyyyyyy clean!

and i was also glad i took the extra time to grease with moly grease, all the linkage bearings and everything. although i must say the PO really maintend my bike well as it was all pretty damn clean and greased in there.

gonna go for a couple around the block rides and make sure everything is buttoned up and snug. it looks so damn cool though with the bracee

one thing i noticed is that i need to run a 180 rear tire as im currently running a 190 and its pretty close to the front of the brace